A Twist of Fate
by glamgirl1087
Summary: A different take on Sydney's funeral (mult. chapters?) romance later
1. Default Chapter

Vaughn was going crazy. Clearly anyone who could read his expression would either run away or send him to a room with padded walls. He was surprised that none of his fellow coworkers and friends was staring at him because his mind felt about ready to explode. There was no way that Sydney could be dead, there had to be some sort of law against such an injustice, it broke the rules, no one was supposed to be able to take his angel away from him...yet here he was about to spread her ashes in the ocean. His stomach took a sharp dive for his feet and he just wanted the earth to swallow him whole. This was not happening, he thought. "I'm just taking a short trip to the beach before I pick up Syd for our trip to Santa Barbara, gotta make sure the weather looks decent." Can't have something so trivial ruin what he hoped would be the greatest weekend of his life. He had the ring, he had the plan on how it was going to get to her finger, now all he needed was her. "You'd have her if you didn't leave her alone in that house with that murderous bitch," his mind screamed at him. God, even his subconscious wasn't on his side since she'd been gone. He just couldn't win today.  
Vaughn was torn from the little war he had going on in his head by the quiet weeping of Marshall. Poor guy had been surprisingly strong through the service, but he didn't think he could take it if Marshall started sobbing. He looked over at Jack hoping to draw strength from the man with the iron jaw, as he was sometimes known around the office, but all he saw gazing back at him was the shell of a broken man, a father who had lost his only link to sanity. He wasn't crying, but his eyes told of the beating his soul had taken.  
"God Syd, can't you see what's happened since you've been gone, can't you see how hard your loss has been on all of us, why did you have to leave us? Why did you have to leave me? I loved.......love you so much it hurts. My heart has shattered. I can't even seem to function without you. I know you never meant to go away, but all you have to do is come back to me to stop this pain. So easy, just walk onto the beach right now and I'll forgive you for making me live a nightmare for the past few days."  
He longingly gazed at the parking lot, searching for that hair, that stride, that essence that was Sydney, but all he saw was that damned van with the surfboards. How could anyone be enjoying themselves right now, it couldn't be done. If possible, the agonizing silence that had spread throughout his body had gotten even more intense. Vaughn realized that everyone was staring at him expectantly and his stomach turned again. It was time. All that was left of his soul mate was what could fit in a gaudy urn that didn't fit Sydney's personality at all. The waves just barely licked at his feet as he got closer to his final separation from her. His knuckles had turned white as he clutched the urn and he was shaking almost uncontrollable, the weather had nothing to do with it.  
"Damn it all to hell! I can't do this, I can't!" Damn injustices of the world had to take her away from him, where the hell was his God, cause this wasn't the way it should be! Vaughn wanted nothing more than to collapse and let the sea slowly drag him out towards oblivion, but he had to be strong, he had to do it for Syd. Her life needed closure, a proper ending and if that was what could come from this awful day, then it was worth something.  
The tears slid unheeded down his face as he watched the wind carry his Syd away from him to be a part of the water. "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, whatever the heck that's supposed to mean.........I love you Syd, always and forever.....God I love you."  
Vaughn couldn't remember how the hell his feet had gotten him to his car, but he was glad it was over. Now all he had was the rest of his life to torture himself with the "what ifs." His hand had started shaking again as he searched for his keys and then tried to put them in the door lock when he felt a firm hand on his shoulder that startled him so much that his keys slid under that damned van as he whipped around to face Weiss. Not even his best bud could lift his spirits, Vaughn was miserable, so they settled for a brotherly hug before Vaughn dejectedly got down on his hands and knees to find his keys on the ground. He moved his hand around blindly under the car, cause there was no way he could see clearly through a blur of tears.  
About 10 seconds went by and Vaughn was getting frustrated. He just wanted to get out of this place. He was about to give up and just walk home when a small red light caught his eye. "What in the heck?" Panic set in when he realized it could've been a bomb, "only Sloane could stoop to something so low at Sydney's funeral for Heaven's sake!" Only when Vaughn tried to get a closer look did he realize he was not looking at an explosive device, but rather a small video camera. Taken by surprise he got up to see if Weiss had left yet. Finding he hadn't, he called him over. He took in the entire car while he waited for Weiss to jog over and noticed that there was another identical camera hidden by one of the surfboards. "Why was there surveillance on them?"  
Weiss approached and Vaughn showed him what he had found. It was mutually decided that they were going to try to break into the vehicle and find any information on the car and its owner. They had no idea what lie on the other side of the metal door.  
Sydney could see anything but the back of the van. She couldn't turn her neck, couldn't cry out for Vaughn though she desperately wanted to. He was lost from her range of vision after walking from the beach, but Sydney knew he was close, she could always sense him. She would give anything just to be able to let him know she was ok. She shifted her vision to the right, trying to see where Oleg had moved in the van. From what she could glimpse, he was looking down at some file, probably hers, and writing in it. He had no idea how much she wanted to kick his ass right now. Sure, she was scared to death of what the hell was going on, but she was still thinking clearly. She couldn't take it, Syd closed her eyes and prayed to whoever was listening just to let Vaughn find her, he had to, or else she didn't think she'd want to find out what this psychotic bastard had in store for her.  
Vaughn and Weiss ducked below the windows of the car again, realizing that they could easily be seen by whoever was inside. As of now their plan consisted of breaking the window, unlocking the door, and asking questions later, which seemed rather thorough to Vaughn considering the state his mind was in right now. Nonetheless the two were prepared. They had let the rest of the group know what was going on and asked them to keep their distance until it was over because they had no idea what they'd be faced with. Most likely some kind of immediate explosion, but to Vaughn that sounded pretty good right about now.  
As Weiss stayed semi-crouched to the ground, Vaughn brought his elbow back and prepared to ram it at the window full-force. He counted to three and made contact. The glass shattered willing and Vaughn immediately clawed his way around the door for the lock on the other side. He came across a small lever and quickly flipped it up and retracted his arm from the jagged glass that was left. Weiss instantly grabbed the door handle and yanked the car open. In his brain he quickly identified a white-haired man whipping towards the door with a glint of metal in his hand so Weiss wasted no time in shooting him directly through the heart. The man fell back against the other side of the car and sunk against the wall, dead, with no resistance.  
Weiss quickly scanned the rest of the car and only then did he realize what the hell they had just stumbled upon. He turned to Vaughn who was gingerly clutching his elbow and was only able to get out a desperate, "Vaughn." He walked back towards the car and looked inside and nearly died when his brain finally registered what else Weiss had said. "It's Syd." 


	2. A New Face?

Vaughn felt that at some point during the day he must have sustained some type of massive head trauma. His brain just could not seem to function at a high rate of speed. The order of thoughts in his head right now went something like, "I'm staring at Sydney.............................. Sydney's supposed to be dead............................. Sydney's not dead!"  
  
Those three statements were on some kind of continuous loop in his mind and he pretty much had yet to register anything else going on around him. He felt like doing some type of celebratory dance thanks to that last one. He heard himself frantically yell at Weiss to tell anyone left from the service what they had found and to call an ambulance. As he heard Weiss run off in the direction of his coworkers, he could only stare at the scene played out in front of him.  
  
Before he knew what was happening the world shifted and he realized he had just practically thrown himself into the van to get a closer look at his other half. After hurriedly clutching his way to where Sydney was located on the gurney he realized he was now only centimeters from her face, but that wasn't close enough, it would never be close enough. Vaughn wanted to make sure that Sydney wasn't going anywhere this time around. This kind of situation had been a frequent one in his dreams since her supposed "death", but his Sydney always seemed to fade with the break of dawn and the brutal onslaught of reality.  
  
That wasn't going to happen now. She was here, right in front of him and she was staying put. Vaughn had failed her once and he would never make that mistake again. Today he had been given a gift, his life was given back to him and he wouldn't screw it up this time. It was his second chance and he was going to make sure Syd knew how much she meant to him. How much love he ha for such a beautiful and amazing woman.  
  
He cautiously clutched her cheeks in his hands, careful to avoid the numerous cuts that littered her beautiful face. Dried blood was flecked all across her porcelain skin and she was crying. Vaughn was immediately alarmed that Sydney was more injured than she appeared, but somehow her eyes conveyed everything that she couldn't say at the moment with her mouth. "Mouth.......oh shit duct tape. God am I stupid."  
  
Vaughn stroked her face gently before he brought his hands to her mouth, being as gentle as possible when he removed the tape hindering her breathing. He replaced the painful sting that he had just caused with his lips, expressing all of the pent up love and passion he had kept bottled inside since that horrible night. But something was wrong, Sydney wasn't responding in the slightest, her lips made no movement under his own and he drew back to take in her reflection. She was no longer crying, but she had yet to even blink. Her eyes were the only thing that gave off any sign of life, that, and her labored breathing. (Sydney's POV)  
Sydney wanted nothing more than to throw her arms around this man and kiss him for all that she was worth, but that stupid injection prevented her from even smiling up at him to let him know that she was all right.  
  
When Vaughn drew back from their one-sided kiss, the forehead wrinkles had come out in full force. Sydney quickly captured his gaze to calm him down a bit. When she had his attention, she shifted her eyes over to Oleg, specifically his coat pocket where she had seen him put an extra syringe of the serum he had injected her with. Understanding, Vaughn moved over to the dead man and checked everything on him. Finally finding the syringe, he showed it to Sydney.  
  
By this time, the drug was starting to wear off and Syd was able to accomplish the task of blinking while waiting for Vaughn. She blinked once for "yes" hoping Vaughn would get the fact that that was what was injected into her. He quickly grabbed the papers littering the floor and scanned them for any useful information. Immediately he identified one of the substances written as a neurotoxin and relief washed over him. The time written underneath that was dated today, more than an hour ago and Vaughn knew that the effects would subside soon.  
  
He turned to Sydney and smiled, emphasizing that he knew what had happened to her and that everything would be okay. He carefully unfastened her restraints and took her hand in his, squeezing it. He looked into her eyes and found everything he had been searching for his whole life, he knew then that this was the woman he was going to marry. Having become lost in his love, Vaughn was brought back to the present by the delicate squeezing of his hand. He looked down, then up at Sydney and she was smiling.  
  
Vaughn gave her a few more minutes to recover and then once again brought his lips to hers in a kiss that sealed their fates. However this time, Sydney responded in full.  
  
The kiss was tender and soft, but it spoke of everything that Sydney and Vaughn felt in their hearts. Vaughn moved his hands through Syd's hair then wiped away any trace of tears left on her stunning face. Sydney slowly brought her hand to his heart and knew she was home. They spoke without words; that after everything they had gone through, they had survived it together and this moment cemented that fact. It marked the beginning of what they both knew would be the rest of a lifetime together.  
  
The two were interrupted by the quick panting of Weiss.  
  
"Sydney, I explained the details of what just happened to everyone else, the ambulance is on its way, everything's fine, and your father is going to kill me in about 2.8 seconds if I don't move out of the way and let him see his daughter."  
  
Vaughn reluctantly moved his lips from Syd's, but held her hand tightly as her father practically ran to the car, an odd sight to say the least. The man with the usually expressionless face had shock and joy written all over him.  
  
"My God, Sydney? Are you all right? Where have you been?" Jack moved forward and touched his daughter's forehead in his most fatherly gesture to date and was about to say something else when the shrill cry of a siren split the calm air of the waterfront.  
  
It came to an abrupt halt in front of the van and two medics tore out of the back while a woman in the driver's seat picked up a radio to communicate with their headquarters that they had arrived at the location. The two gentlemen cleared a path to the side doors and urgently asked Vaughn to vacate the vehicle. Which he proceeded to do only after having a deathly glaring match with Jack Bristow and a forceful urge by Kendall.  
  
Five minutes later had Sydney reluctantly laying down on a new stretcher outside of the van and about to be loaded into the ambulance. Vaughn was once again by her side and about to step into the ambulance with her and Jack closely followed suit before he was interrupted by Kendall.  
  
"Jack, I know you want to be with your daughter, but Agent Vaughn is quite capable of escorting her to the hospital. I need you to stay here until the coroner arrives incase any of this man's employers show up," he said as he motioned to Oleg, still unmoving inside the van.  
  
Jack gave Sydney one last comforting smile and an, "I'll see you soon Sweetie," before he grudgingly walked back over to Kendall. He watched as the ambulance drove his only joy in life off towards the hospital and sent a silent prayer to God to keep her safe.  
  
The ambulance had been driving for about five minutes. Vaughn still held Sydney's hand and stroked her cheek as she gazed warmly into his eyes. This entire situation was so unreal, but as long as she was alive and safe, nothing else mattered. All that they had to do now was get to a hospital to make sure nothing serious was wrong. He briefly glanced out the back window to determine how much longer it would be until they reached the hospital, when he realized that the root they were taking was entirely wrong.  
  
Feeling slightly alarmed as to what was going on, he was about to have the paramedics ask the driver where they were going when the car jerked to a sudden stop. Before Vaughn could even get any words out of his mouth, the window separating them from the front of the car was thrown open and two shots went of, killing both of the EMTs. What had just happened did not even have time to register in neither Vaughn nor Sydney's brain because before they knew it, the back doors had flown open and they were both staring down the barrel of a gun.  
  
"Agent Vaughn, Agent Bristow, good day..... my name is Lauren Reed." 


	3. What Could Be and What Is

It was an amazing dream.  
  
Vaughn had come back after the debriefing, hurriedly picked up Sydney, and then they had been on their way to Santa Barbara. The sun was magnificent there, the weather could not have been more perfect for their weekend alone, but the way Vaughn had planned it, the two of them were going to take the entire week off, it was only Sunday, and there was no way he was going back to work tomorrow.  
  
The breeze on the beach was beautiful; the water was a sheer blue that brought out the streaks in Sydney's shimmering hair. He looked over to find her dozing off on her lounge chair. She looked so gorgeous. She seemed so innocent and vulnerable; completely unaware of the dangers of the world as a gentle wind grazed her cheek. The light was hitting her face with a soft glow that totally embodied the angel he thought she was. He loved everything about this woman, her warm brown eyes, her soft lips, strong jaw, graceful arms, enchanting smile...the list could go on for days, but Vaughn was just so enraptured in this moment of bliss that he didn't want to be lost in thought.  
  
He couldn't help himself from being drawn to her beauty, so as quietly as possible he hoisted himself out of his chair and closed the minimal distance between them. He knelt down inches from her face and proceeded to place a few chaste kisses on her forehead, nose, and lips. He drew back to gaze at the woman who had captured his heart, but was startled out of this blissful reverie, by a quiet, calm voice.  
  
"Getting greedy are we? How dare you wake me with a kiss when I was clearly pretending to sleep." Sydney sighed contentedly and turned her body towards Vaughn.  
  
"I should've known you couldn't sleep with such a gorgeous man beside you. I think the sun is affecting my intuition."  
  
"I think I owe you another kiss. This trip was an amazing idea."  
  
Sydney wrapped her arms around Vaughn's neck and kissed him hungrily. She had never felt as close to Danny as she did to the man beside her right now. She knew that this was where her life belonged, with him.........always.  
  
"This place is beautiful...I can't believe I've never been here before. I'm glad you let me in on the secret."  
  
"Maybe we should make this our new tradition, you and me in Santa Barbara?"  
  
"Sounds too good to be true, but I'll take that over our reality any day." She smiled as she stared tenderly at Vaughn. The dimples were out in full force.  
  
"God Syd, you're so beautiful. I'm the luckiest man alive." He paused as a thought came to him, he had waited so long for it, but he knew this was the right moment. "Syd," she looked up shyly, she knew what was coming, " I...love you." He sighed in relief, that wasn't so hard, and it had felt so right. Sydney made sure she had his gaze before she cupped his cheek and responded.  
  
"Vaughn, I love you."  
  
"Vaughn, I love you, please wake up for me!"  
  
Vaughn was vaguely aware that Sydney was talking to him. He registered a throbbing pain at his temple, but could not seem to remember how it had gotten there. His vision was gradually clearing and he was able to see his surroundings without a foggy blur. Once again, he heard Sydney's pleading voice.  
  
"I love you, please, please, please wake up." Vaughn found himself laying in Sydney's lap as she cradled his head and ran her fingers along the side of his face affectionately. However the pain in her eyes was clearly visible. He became distressed by the tears he had caused in her eyes and reached up to wipe them away.  
  
"Shhhhh, Syd, it's okay, I'm okay."  
  
She let out what sounded like a relieved gasp when he had spoken and bent over him to place small kisses on his cheek. "Thank God you're okay. Lauren hit you so hard I was afraid you'd never wake up." Her breathing had evened out and her tears had dried and only then did Vaughn bitterly remember what had happened once they were escorted out of the van at an obviously undisclosed location.  
  
Without the oxygen mask aiding her breathing, Sydney was looking paler as they stood outside of the ambulance. Vaughn tried to support her weight as they were forced out of the car, but before he knew it several masked men, yes he knew it sounded cliché, had roughly separated them and he could see that Sydney was struggling to remain standing.  
What scared Vaughn more was the fact that she was shaking. It struck him that she probably hadn't had any food or water for days and this was not helping matters. The fire in her eyes was still burning, but he didn't think she would remain conscious for much longer.  
It was then that Lauren decided to speak. "I trust you two are most likely a bit confused right now, but allow me to set the record straight. As I have said already, my name is Lauren Reed and I was sent to this country for one purpose, to become close to a Mr. Michael Vaughn." She flashed him a smug grin. "With time, you were to marry me and then I would be privy to all the dirty little secrets of the CIA. It would've been easy when my target was a man with such a weak spine. You probably would've drunken yourself into a stupor by the time I was to come along." Vaughn was glaring daggers at this woman. There was no way he would ever replace Sydney, especial with this bitch. As soon as that thought had crossed his mind, he heard a shaky response from Sydney.  
  
"Contrary to pop...ular belief......men of his stature...don't go for whores like you." Vaughn smiled inwardly, she may have been drained, but she always had some fight left in her. Though his heart was surging with pride, he realized Lauren looked ready to kill. She hastily walked towards Sydney and pistol-whipped her across the cheek before she even knew what was coming. Sydney immediately crumpled to the floor like a rag doll and all Vaughn could remember was rushing toward her before he saw stars. That brought him back to this moment as he lay in Sydney's embrace. Gradually he was able to sit himself up with out the room spinning and then he turned to face Sydney. He took in her appearance and assessed the damage that this Lauren had caused. That name now made him sick to his stomach. God how could she think he would ever fall for such a horrible person. If he had truly lost Sydney, he would rather die than see himself with such a witch.  
  
There was now a deep cut on Sydney's cheek that marred her beauty and Vaughn vowed that this woman would pay dearly for causing his baby anymore pain. "Hmmm, baby," he thought, "that sounds so right."  
  
"Vaughn, are you sure you're alright? You've been out of it for almost 3 hours." There was a moment of silence as he nodded slowly. Sydney let out a pained sigh. "I don't know what I would've done if I'd lost you. I just got you back." She paused to collect herself, her composure was dwindling. "I can't even imagine another minute being without you...I felt like I couldn't breathe when I woke up to find you unconscious and I'm just so afraid that this woman is going to take you away from me. I can't go through that again, not after Taipei, not after the past few days, I can't! I couldn't live with myself if I'd lost you without telling you how much I love you. You've been the only constant thing in my life for so long and all I've done is brought chaos to yours, yet you're still here protecting me. I've never felt so strongly for someone as I do for you and I....I don't want to lose that. I don't want to lose you!"  
  
Sydney had broken down into sobs by now and all Vaughn could do was hold her as she poured her heart out to him. He truly didn't know what to say, because she had expressed every feeling and emotion he had been thinking at that moment. What if she really was dead? What would he have done? He shuddered at the mere thought. A life without Sydney, to him, was no life at all. He wanted nothing more than to break down right along with her and tell her how afraid he was that this was all some sick dream, but right Sydney was in pain, both mentally and physically, and she needed him to be strong. Vaughn carefully scooped Sydney up in his arms as small spasms wracked her entire body. He walked to the corner farthest away from what he thought was a door and slowly sat down with Sydney still cradled in his embrace. The room looked rather blurry and he realized that he too was crying. Vaughn whispered warm words of love in Sydney's ear as he felt her relax and fall into a restless sleep...at least it was something. He looked down to find her clutching the fabric of his dress-shirt, close to his heart, and slowly began to close his eyes with an unspoken prayer that she would still be in his arms when they awoke. "I love you Syd." 


	4. And so it begins

It was around three in the morning and their cell was quiet. The only sound that could be heard echoing of the walls was the steady breathing of the two companions who had retreated to the corner of the room. Each breath matched the others as they lay curled together on the floor. Under normal circumstances, this would have been a cherished moment between lovers, but nothing was ordinary about where they were. There were smears of blood on the wall, pools of water on the floor, and the distinct smell of death seemed to flow in through the air vents. However, that is not what had disrupted the stillness of the small room, but rather the sharp intake of breath that had come from Michael Vaughn. He sat upright almost as soon as he had opened his eyes, but still could not rid himself of the vision that was assaulting his memory. He had been running after Sydney, down what seemed like a never-ending hallway. Every time he turned a corner, he would catch a fleeting vision of her hair before she disappeared again. There was nothing standing in his way but walls this time...no guards, no Lauren, no Sloane, but somehow he could never catch her. He tried to call out to her hoping she would stop at the sound of his voice, but if she had heard him, she made no indication of it. His voice had long since become hoarse and Vaughn was about to give up when he turned another corner and slammed into a door. It was a cold steel with the number 47 clearly engraved into the center. He knew that number, and he knew that it was never a good omen. Vaughn had every intention of turning around and running back through the cruel maze he had just completed, but he knew Sydney was on the other side of that door and he couldn't leave without finding her. Somehow he realized that she was depending on him and he couldn't disappoint her again. He cautiously turned the knob and stepped through the threshold of the door only to find that the room he had stepped into was pitch-black. He groped blindly for a light switch along the wall and was relieved about three seconds later when he found one. However turning the light on was one of the worst choices he had ever made. What he saw when the room was illuminated brought him to his knees. Sydney, his Sydney, was dangling from rusted shackles in the center of the room, lifeless. Her wrists sagged heavily on the cuffs and her once powerful legs no longer held her own weight. Lauren stood to her right side clutching onto a knife that was deeply imbedded in Sydney's ribcage. The woman didn't even acknowledge his presence, just continued to stare blankly at the blood that seeped over her hand. Vaughn warily moved towards Sydney, but could not bring himself to get closer than a few feet to her. This wasn't the woman he had fallen in love with, it was merely the shell of the fierce, passionate person that he once knew. Her cheeks were stained with sickeningly red tears and her mouth was still open in shock and pain. Before Vaughn knew how to react, the room once again fell into darkness and he felt himself jerk awake terrified, only to realize that he was back in the same dank cell that he had occupied before the horrible nightmare. It wasn't exactly where he wanted to find himself after such an agonizing dream, but it was better than the dream itself because Sydney was still alive, and she was lying right next to him. He had hoped that his sudden movements hadn't woken the sleeping angel beside him, but no such luck. She was stirring and her eyes gradually fluttered open. Vaughn watched as Sydney's eyes went wide trying to determine where she was, but he wrapped her in a tender embrace before she became too alarmed. "Sssshhhhhhh Syd, it's just me. We're still in the cell, but we're okay." Her eyes had eventually focused on Vaughn and she pulled herself closer to him, breathing in his scent. "Sorry, I just wanted to make sure you're still really here." "I'm not going anywhere, don't worry. Whatever it is these people have planned for us, we'll make it out together. And I'm sure that by now your father has realized you've gone missing and is probably threatening to kill Kendall if he doesn't send a team out as soon as possible." That got him a small laugh. They sat like that for a while; speaking words of love and reassurance to each other while they lay entwined on the floor. Eventually, a loud scrape was heard from across the room as the door was briskly forced open to reveal Lauren looking too smug to be safe. Something was up and both Sydney and Vaughn knew it. They arose when her shoes made a loud, smacking sound on the floor as she approached them. When she was about five feet away she stopped and looked them up and down. Their hands were still interlocked, keeping each other strong. When Lauren spoke, she had an air of superiority in her voice. "Well, I would ask you two to..."get a room" as it is so commonly put, but I'm afraid you won't be needing one much longer. It seems that the Covenant has decided that they no longer have any use for either of you. I have been instructed by my superiors to extract as much information as possible from you on anything and everything involving the CIA and your dear friend Rambaldi and afterwards I will be allowed have my way with you. And I do promise...Sydney, that when I am finished with you you'll be very sorry that you ever opened your mouth and called me a whore." Sydney had moved forward prepared to kill Lauren with her bare hands if need be, but was stopped by Vaughn's hand on her wrist, "Not yet." "Well well, it seems dear Sydney can't wait to see what I have in store for her, but don't worry, you won't need your patience for long. The fact is, I really don't care if you won't divulge all of your dirty little secrets to me. I'm not even going to attempt to interrogate you." By this time Lauren had gotten even closer. "All I want, is to see suffer. By the time I'm done, you'll both be begging for the sweet relief of death." As quickly as Lauren had gotten in Sydney's face, she turned on her heel and walked to the door. She was gone for no more than thirty seconds before she returned, wielding six guards and a tray of what appeared to be surgical tools...it was anyone's guess as to whether or not they were sterile. Sydney and Vaughn had put up a worthy fight, but the uneven odds allowed the guards to eventually restrain the two. Vaughn was relentlessly trying to free himself from the grip of two men, but it was useless. One of the guards who was currently unoccupied had brandished a taser and was approaching Vaughn.  
Sydney cut in, "No...Vaughn! You bastards he hasn't done anything...take me!"  
"Sydney no! Don't worry I'll be fine all right? Stay calm."  
Vaughn tried to get a high kick in to send the taser flying, but to no avail. The man quickly shocked him right in the stomach and holding him quickly put shackles around his wrist and feet. By the time he had regained his composure, they were preparing to do the same thing to Sydney. She too tried to injury the oncoming guard, but again he stunned. She fought to remain standing, but the guards shoved her down in order to shackle her as well. After a few moments they were restrained against chains connected to the wall and were forced to stand to alleviate the pain that was caused in their wrists. Lauren spoke to the guards under her breath and they in turn left the room with a lingering slam to the door. She approached with a predatory glint in her eyes. "Now normally, being a feminist myself, I would begin something like this by first starting on the man. However I don't like being insulted by those who aren't smart enough to bite their tongues in certain situations...and of course, I did promise Sydney that she wouldn't have to wait too long. Therefore..." She moved towards the tray of items and then approached Sydney while twirling a scalpel in her hands, but then stopped and turned her head towards Vaughn. "Michael. It's Michael isn't it? I hope you don't mind if I'm too forward, but I was wondering if there's any part of Sydney that you're rather fond of...maybe something that you would like be to try and avoid during my ministrations." "Go to hell you fucking bitch. I promise you that when we get out of here you are going to burn for this." "Hmm, I guess that's a no then? Well alright, looks like I'll just have to decide what I would like to do first." Lauren glanced at Sydney for a few moments before she smiled in satisfaction. "Sydney, if you would be so kind as to turn around and face the wall please." "I hate to sound redundant here...but GO TO HELL!" "Now really, that's not necessary, it's a simple request and unless you would like me to start with your dear, sweet boyfriend, I suggest you obey." Lauren obviously knew Sydney's weakness, she would do anything to save Vaughn from suffering so she reluctantly turned away from Lauren. He turned to her"Syd, don't do this, let her take me, I'll be all right. You're still recovering." "I love you Vaughn, but I can't let her hurt you, I can't. I'm sorry." Vaughn and Sydney had completely forgotten that Lauren was still in the room as they spoke. But all Vaughn could get out was, "I love you Sydney, I love---" before a whipped cracked down and Sydney's pained scream filled the air. 


End file.
